Here is my first animated environment. Everything was made using photoshop. Though it took a really long time to create, I enjoyed the process and learned a lot! Regardless of my rusty animation skills, I hope you can enjoy the overall mood. Down below is a brief explanation of how I approached this work.

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A GIF of the animation and A video with sound

Here is a very rough sketch of the scene. Initially, I had no plan to animate. I just wanted to create a finished environment illustration.

However, during the same time, I started practicing some animation. I always had a desire to bring my environments to life by incorporating some animation into the scene. I started off by doing a water splash study from Flashfx.Blogspot  (Its an amazing tutorial, I highly recommend checking it out). After understanding a bit about fluid dynamics, I was inspired to animate the scene above.

Here is a rough map-out showing what areas of the stream/waterfall I wanted to animate. The animation was broken down into 5 parts. 1) the stream at the top going right to left, passing under the prehistoric monument. 2) the top water fall  3)the mist/splash at the base of the fall 4) the stream following it 5)the second water fall (a copy of the first the fall but just offset by a few frames so it doesn’t seem synchronized).

The speed of the entire body of water is 10 frames per second. Some parts of the running water are 5frames and other parts are 10. This allows a variety in the speed, giving the water a more fluid and organic appearance. If the animation sequence of everything was 10 frames long, the movement of the water would appear calculated and not feel natural.

I only used these 7 sequences to create the entire body of water. I reused some by flipping them horizontally and or offsetting the frames.

Later on I decided to add moving grass and flies to the scene. Just some subtle detail to make the environment feel more believable. Again I altered the frame lengths for each element. One of the flies’s length is actually 20 frames.

For animating in photoshop I used the video timeline and an animation plugin called AnimDessin2 (link to source files and installation instructions). Photoshop isn’t the best software for animation but it is fairly straightforward and a good place to start. Soon I will upgrade to a more efficient software like Adobe Animate or TVPaint.

Here is tutorial that shows you how to use AnimDessin

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuUFj_i-OII

A video I posted on Instagram, showing the first stage of the animation.

 

 

Would you like to see how I created this waterfall animation? Well give this photoshop file a download and dig through all the layers and frames!

Download Now ($2+) : Waterfall Animation (PSD) Photoshop File

And finally, an image of the completed painting.

 

 

If you found this content helpful or inspiring, please consider supporting my art and website by Buying a Print, using my Resource List or making a small donation VIA PayPal. Thank you – Yog

 

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Besides exercising and eating healthy, I like to fuel my creative energy with caffeine. As much as I love tea and coffee, I prefer taking caffeine pills these days. Originally I started taking them as a pre-workout supplement, but also found them to be excellent for boosting focus and creativity.

Specifically I recommend taking Weyland: Energy Caffeine Pills. The Main Reason why I love this brand is because it contains an amino acid called L-Theanine, which basically cancels out all the negative effects of caffeine. So you will not have to worry about feeling jittery or shooting a #2 in the toilet. The L-Theanine will make the experience feel natural, keeping you calm and focused. One serving contains 200 mg of caffeine, which is about 2 cups of coffee. So these pills will keep you energized for at least 4-5 hours! And you will not feel any crash afterwards! Definitely give Weyland: Energy a try, you can buy a bottle here for $8.99! Fuel your Creativity !

To prevent a build up in tolerance, caffeine pills should be cycled. Try to limit your intake and only use them when it is absolutely necessary. Usually I skip 2-3 days a week and drink tea instead.

If you prefer drinking a cup,  L-Theanine can also be taken separately. It comes in either pill or powder form. I prefer pills simply because it’s more convenient. L-Theanine is also great to take before bedtime. From experience, I can say that it definitely helps with falling asleep and getting a restful night. Usually I wake up the next morning in a good mood, with noticeable amount of energy. I highly recommend trying L-Theanine 200mg by Nature’s Trove

You can buy it here for $8.99!

*As a side note, L-Theanine is an amino acid found naturally in green tea. It is completely safe to take and has many health benefits!*

There are more supplements and vitamins that I take to fuel my creativity, but I will talk about those in another post. If you have any questions about the above supplements, please leave a message below or email me at yogeshj25@gmail.com

Thank you for reading!

Yog

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Hello all! So for the next 8-9 weeks I will be taking an environment design course taught by Amit Dutta. If you are not familiar with his work, please check it out here: http://monkeybreadart.tumblr.com/. I have been following Amit’s work for the past 1.5-2 years and I am amazed with the progress he has made in such a short time. Seeing the time and dedication artists like him put into their work is truly inspiring. When I heard that Amit was offering a course in environment design, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t afford to pass by. So every week he will provide the class with a recorded lecture/demo, followed by an assignment. At the end of each week, students will be required to submit their assignments and Amit will provide live/recorded feedback. If you wish to know more details about the course, please visit the official Crimson Daggers thread: http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-6851.html

I am taking this course because I want to improve in my sense of composition, design, mood, and narrative. And by looking at Amit’s work and the progress he has made, I believe he has a lot of knowledge and wisdom to provide. Also, I look forward to meet new artists in the course. Having such a community could be great for helping one another out and keeping each other motivated. I basically want to get as much feedback as I can so I can improve quickly.

A big cheers to the beginning of this course!

-Yog

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